Happy Labor Day and Another Book Giveaway!

Happy Labor Day everyone!

I don't exactly know what we're celebrating, but I hope you have a good, um, day of labor?

I opened my newspaper this morning (I read it every day at breakfast while drinking my yum yum breakfast shake), to read this headline: Workforce has changed since last Labor Day. Those journalists, they're observant, aren't they? The article goes on to say:

Over the past year, the labor market has suffered its most wrenching changes in
a generation, shedding millions of jobs and changing the profile of the the more
than 131 million people who head to work every day.

Thanks AP, for further driving home the point we're already all too familiar with, which is, the economy is down in the dumps. And many of us are suffering. So thanks for the reminder.

All of this talk about the bad economy and such makes me think it's time for another book giveaway. I mean, what perks you up more than the thought that you may be the winner of some thing?

So, you know those coupons that come in the newspaper? The ones for Quaker granola bars and Kraft macaroni and cheese, Ballpark hotdogs, Betty Crocker cake mixes, ect.

One year, in my pre-vegan days I did do the coupon thing. I was a good coupon cutter, organizing my coupons, and looking out for sales to really make the most of my coupons. I even used a website that helped me multiply my savings. I think, if I recall correctly, I ended up buying somewhere around $400-$500 worth of groceries for about $50 one month. Sounds crazy, but what you do is use coupons for stuff that is already on sale. It was nice to save a lot of money, but it took me a lot of time (!) organizing, planning, driving around to various stores, making sure I bought the stuff before sales ended and coupons expired. It was like a part-time job, something that at my current stage of life, I just don't have time or want to do (try going shopping to 3 or 4 different stores with 3 small children in tow--not fun!).

More than that, now that I'm vegan, well, there are additional problems with this technique. Most, if not all of the coupons are for foods that are: 1) Not even close to vegan. 2) Uber processed, refined, laden with sugar/trans fats/additives. 3) Big name brand stuff like Quaker, Kraft, General Mills. I'd rather support smaller, more eco-friendly companies who use organic, plant-based ingredients. 4) None of these coupons go towards fresh fruits and vegetables, simple whole grains and legumes, the foods that make up my diet. My thought is that what you end up saving in the short term on groceries with coupons you end up paying in the long-term in costs to your health since the majority of these foods are not health promoting (despite what the advertisers would have you believe!).

So as you can see, coupon cutting doesn't quite work for me and my family. So what do I do in a tight economy to save on groceries?

Well first, I happen to live in a place where for some reason, the cost of food is reasonable, even quite low in comparison to other parts of the country. Beyond that, I buy much of my food in bulk from http://www.azurestandard.com/ (a co-op). I can get bulk organic grains, nuts/seeds, beans, ect. for a fraction of what I'd pay elsewhere. For fresh produce, I do much of my shopping at the Sunflower Farmer's Market, where I buy some organic (I do what I can!), and some conventional fruits and vegetables. The prices and quality of the produce are superb. I also make most of my meals from scratch, often doubling up recipes and freezing or refrigerating for later use. Also, recently I've switched to using cloth diapers (a brave move considering I still have 2 children in diapers!) which has saved us about $60 a month (I know, I know, I must give more details on this, especially since I never thought I'd be able to do cloth diapers, so I'll do so in a future post).

So these are some of the things I do.

Which leads me to the the book giveaway part:

I will be giving away $25 worth of merchandise from my Amazon store (you choose up to $25 worth of books) to the lucky winner.

Here's what you need to do to enter:

1. Become a follower of my blog (see right side bar). If you already are, indicate so in your first comment.

2. Answer the following question in a comment below this post:

What do you do to save money on groceries specifically, but on other things as well? How has the recession affected you (positively and negatively?).

3. You may comment on other posts up to 4 other times (5 times total). Each time you comment, your name will be entered. Please limit your comments to one comment PER post (not 4 seperate comments on one post, I mean, come on).

4. You have until Wednesday September 30 to enter. Winner will be announced by October 2.

5. I look forward to hearing about what you do to save money in these tough times (while still trying to eat optimally, hopefully!).